Welcome back, food lovers. This week on Top Chef Masters, we have: Chef Douglas Rodriguez, Chef Mark Peel, Chef Anita Lo or Chef John Besh. We've got James Beard winners, a Michelin star recipient, and multiple Best New Chef namings. Another impressive bunch. Oh boy, we're impressed and bored already.

Last week, we mentioned the children of the state are getting fatter. Now, another study says that Illinois' adults are, too. According to data released by the CDC, 26.4 percent of Illinois adults are obese. Overall, the Southeast has the highest rates with Mississippi and Alabama coming in at #1 and #2, respectively. (Way to go, SEC country, making me proud of my homeland). But, seriously, the new results show a very troubling trend. As the Trib explains:

Mannequin Men write the soundtrack for a generation of broken teeth. A generation marked by twelve dudes squatting in a house, making bathtubs and closets into bedrooms, sitting on the front stoop sucking on 40s, dying their pets and giving them mohawks, and dancing to reggae and old soul until the sun rises over their breakfast plates at Denny's.

It seems a Chicagoan was in on the act the other day when a bunch of environmental protesters unfurled a giant banner over the face of Abe Lincoln (outrage!) at Mt. Rushmore yesterday. According to the Daily Herald, Chicagoan Mary Sweeters was involved and Greenpeace officials indicated at least one more Illinois resident may have been a part. The Daily Herald has the full scoop on what went down.

It was only a matter of time. The first of what promises to be many lawsuits related to the Fourth of July bridge collapse near Merrillville, Indiana has been filed. According to Fox 32:

Crain's Chicago Business is reporting that Michigan developer Villiage Green Companies is looking to the City of Chicago to help finance conversion of a 45 story vintage office building into apartments, after private financing fell through.

The failed financing is the latest trial for the ramshackle Gothic Revival office tower, which is well-known for its crumbling terra cotta facade and has made two trips to Bankruptcy Court this decade. Village Green, which wants to convert the building into 313 apartments, is pushing ahead despite the bad economy, betting that the downtown rental market will pull out of its slump by the time the project, called Randolph Tower City Apartments, is finished.

Continue reading "Michigan Developer to City TIF Slush Fund: Brother Can You Spare a Dime?"

The White Sox took game two from the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night, winning 5-1. Jose Contreras pitched six-plus frames, allowing one run on six hits while striking out nine. At the dish, Jermaine Dye was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, driving home runs in the first, third and seventh innings. Paul Konerko and Gordon Beckham added to the third-inning offensive, each picking up an RBI en route to an early four-run lead. The Sox will shoot for the series sweep at 1:05 this afternoon as youngsters David Huff and Clayton Richard square off on the mound. Richard, who last pitched on July 5, will look to reverse his recent fortunes on short rest.

The City of Chicago is strapped for cash. Some would argue that we're on the verge of bankruptcy. Layoffs, budget cuts and asset sales? Those are all on the table, if they haven't been tried already. But Mayor Daley is ready to throw down the gauntlet on people that shirk their responsibility to pay traffic tickets, municipal utility bills and other debts owed to the City that Works. Daley announced yesterday that the city plans to outsource its debt collection to, well, debt collectors. "We escalated it in the '90s...We've been doing this for 15 to 20 years," Daley told the Tribune. "People refuse to pay...they say it's too much," the mayor said, adding "it's hard, to be very frank. Some went bankrupt, some you can't find, some are just refusing to pay...this is nothing new."

There's a new Tumblr blog getting passed around the interwebz here in Chicago: Stranger Than Eviction, which features some harrowing, bizarre tales of, well, we'll let the blog's creator explain it.

It's hard out there for a Mayor, as our own Honorable Richard M. Daley is learning these days. Already facing a mountain of criticism at home for things such as the parking meter fiasco and the 2016 Olympic agreement putting taxpayers on the hook for $500 million (let's not even mention that pesky nephew), now he's having to defend himself even more.

The sun is out! Huzzah! Now...how high will temperatures rise? Not all that much, but enough. The sun will battle all day with variable cloudiness and highs will still be unseasonably cool in the upper 70s. But, hey, no rain! For now. An early look at the weekend shows a chance of storms but also warmer temps.

• Our thoughts and prayers to the family of local National Guard soldier Derwin Williams who was killed by a road-side bomb in Afghanistan.
• With Madigan's exit from both the governor's and senate race, it looks like Republican state senator Mark Kirk is taking his aim at U.S. Sen. Burris' seat.
• Meanwhile, the Republican side of the governor's race keeps growing.